Bounty
by general zargon
Summary: Elwood finally has a bounty on his head, unfortunately the way he got it leaves a lot to be desired, and Gamma wants to know what happened. Contains tickling, humor, and brotherly fluff if you tilt your head and squint. My first Zombiepowder fic!


_Disclaimer: I don't own Zombiepowder, Tite Kubo does._

**Bounty**

Well, it had finally happened, Elwood thought distantly as he stared at the piece of paper in his hand.

It was kind of anti-climatic, actually. After all, of all the things he'd gotten caught up in, _that _was the one that got him a price on his head?

He resumed staring at the wanted poster he was holding as he sank lower in the chair he was sitting in before he glanced around to make sure that Gamma and Smith hadn't come back while he'd been distracted.

Nope, the hotel room was still empty aside from himself, the two beds, the couch, and the dining table with three chairs around it. He didn't know whether that was a good thing or not...

Looking back at the wanted poster which boasted a three-quarters picture of his face and his name in large letters, he decided that it was a good thing, because that meant he had time to destroy the dang thing!

"And it isn't even a _good_ picture either..." Elwood grumbled as he glanced down at the amount printed under his name and right beside his new rank and made a face.

_E0. Bounty: 400 Niit_.

And wasn't that just a rip-off if he'd ever seen one?

The thirteen year-old flushed, his face turning bright red, as he remembered where the picture had been taken and exactly why there was now a price on his head and found himself glad that Gamma probably hadn't seen one of the posters yet.

He exerted a force of will that he hadn't even known he possessed and tore his eyes away from the poster, scowling as he promptly began tearing it to shreds. He didn't want to take a chance on any bit of the paper being recognizable.

Elwood had just finished shredding the wanted poster when the hotel room door opened and Gamma Akutabi, the Black-Armed Death God, walked in, followed by his partner C.T. Smith.

The ashen-haired man stopped for a moment, blinking when he saw the bits of paper littered around Elwood's chair, and that's when the preteen noticed that Gamma himself was holding another piece of paper.

"Hey, Elwood, look what I found!" There was a grin on Gamma's face that told Elwood that whatever was on the paper that the older man was holding out to him was about to seriously embarrass him...and the fact that Smith was hiding his grin behind his hand wasn't helping!

With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Elwood stood up, walked over, and took the paper. One look at what he now held and he wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

Because, there in his hand, was an exact copy of the poster that he had just got done tearing up, lousy picture and everything.

Feeling like he wanted to pass out, Elwood looked up at the smirking Gamma and Smith and hesitantly asked, "So what? It's not even that much..."

Gamma's grin widened, and the thirteen year-old swallowed nervously as the older man opened his mouth, "Yeah, and I want to know what you did to earn such a low bounty!" Behind Gamma, Smith was nodding in agreement, obviously amused by what was going on.

Elwood took a small step back as he stammered out, "No, it's really not that big of a deal, and it's a really boring story! You wouldn't want to know about it..." He trailed off when both his partners started nodding and advancing, and he did the only thing he could think of: he bolted.

Darting around the room and evading Gamma's lunge, he made tracks for the door, half-hoping he would make it and get to lay low for a few days until Gamma forgot about the stupid poster.

Unfortunately for the preteen, Smith was between him and the door, and trying to figure out a way around the gunman meant that the swordsman chasing him had time to tackle him to the floor. And then Gamma exploited one of his most closely guarded secrets: the ticklish spot on the side of stomach.

Ten minutes of extended tickling, and Elwood finally cried out, "Mercy! Mercy already! I'll tell you!" Tears of laughter had made tracks down his face, and he could barely breathe enough to choke the words out, but Gamma was apparently in a good enough mood to spare him anymore humiliation.

Lying spread-eagle on the floor and gasping for breath, his chest heaving as he fought to fill his lungs with air, Elwood managed to muster the strength to glare over at where the ashen-haired man now stood smirking, and where Smith was sitting at the table and watching the proceedings with the unmistakable glint of mirth in his eyes.

Managing to regain his breath and pausing to gather the shattered remains of his dignity off the floor, Elwood pushed himself to his feet and stumbled over to one of the empty chairs at the table, sinking gratefully into it as he paused to gather his thoughts. Still glaring over at Gamma, who had joined the two in sitting at the table, the knife-thrower sighed as he wearily started, "It started when you two went to Felridge and you sent me to Irongrudge to look into that Ring rumor..."

**Author's Note: Sorry if this isn't very good, I just had the urge to write this drabble, and this is my first time writing a Zombiepowder fic, so please go easy on me! Please R&R and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is welcome!**


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